This post a little late to the party–a fair few folks have already weighed in on “InstaFace” on the recent auction of the 20-year Phantoms throwback jerseys. But you knew I was looking forward to this, so I’ll weigh in as well.

First, please remember a couple things:

These are game-worn authentics, which are somewhat hard to come by since the team moved to Allentown. They don’t sell authentics at all in the store at this point.

Something is worth whatever one person decides he/she will pay for it. Or, probably at least two, in this case, because of the nature of the auction.

These are a poor investment. Despite the scarcity–I can’t see how any of these will ever be re-sold for more than what they cost in this auction.

The “throwback” design goes back to the days of the Philadelphia Phantoms, when purple and black were the main colors.

This particular design resembles the away/black the team wore during the ’07-’08 season and the ’08-’09 season, before leaving for Glens Falls, NY.

But, it’s not exactly the same–slightly less purple, I think. This is a unique jersey.

Plus, this jersey features the “20-years” logo, as well as a specific “Lehigh Valley” Phantoms logo on the shoulders.

Of course, the Capital Blue sponsor patch is in place, and the CCM, AHL, Reebok, and fight strap are as appropriate for an ‘on-ice’ sweater.

Third, a couple things about the auction:

It was odd that the Phantoms didn’t include the word “Phantoms” in the listing title on eBay. A search for “Phantoms Jersey” did not turn up any of these listings. An erroneous oversight, I’m guessing.

It was also somewhat odd to have the auction end on Easter Sunday. Perhaps it was by design, thinking folks would be home, and up into the evening in order to put in last-minute bids. But it also could have kept some folks away if they were travelling or not near a computer on the holiday.

However, it was very smart to stagger the finishes so that those who got outbid could then bid up the next one in line. The final items did go pretty late into the night, though, and the prices did peter out a bit as the night wore on and more and more of those in the market were satisfied.

Finally, early on in the auction, a lot of bidding was being done by individuals with zero or one feedback on eBay. Now, it could be that there were some new eBay-ers who were interested only in hockey jerseys but had never used the auction site before. Or, it could be….well, I’ll let you figure the rest out on your own.

Results:

33 hockey jerseys were auctioned off, for a total of $21,764.00. The money went to the Phantoms, and not to Phantoms Charities. The average price was $659.52, with the high of $1,010.00 for Colin McDonald and the low of $454.00 for Andrew MacDonald. A lot of competition for that ‘C’ sweater, I think, and no love for AMac.

Numbers run together, so correct me if I get any of these wrong.

For posterity, in reverse order of finish time:

Dalton Smith $595.00

Petr Straka $600.24

Jay Rosehill $561.00

Kevin Sundher $510.00

Anthony Stolarz $685.41 (rumor has it this bidder may have backed out)

Joe Rehkamp $504.83

Pavel Padakin $540.00

Aaron Palushaj $585.00

Martin Ouellette $802.00

Samuel Morin $690.00

meLVin $742.00

Colin McDonald $1,010.00

Christian Marti $465.00

Danick Martel $664.18

Andrew MacDonald $454.00

Taylor Leier $674.24

Maxim Lamarche $560.00

Jason LaBarbera $570.00

Robert Hagg $670.00

Kevin Goumas $670.00

Tyrell Goulbourne $875.00

Sam Gagner $660.00

Shayne Gostisbehere $865.00 (“game issued”)

Davis Drewiske $697.93

Nick Cousins $805.00

Tim Brent $705.00

Brandon Alderson $520.00

Cole Bardreau $905.95

Mark Alt $724.36

Jesper Pettersson $512.69

Phil DeSimone $651.72

Chris Conner $682.45

Adam Comrie $716.00

Conclusions:

If the Phantoms can make a quick $21k on these things, they might want to do more of them!

Or, maybe it’s time to turn these over to the Phantoms Charities arm.

I think the live auction drives the price higher. However, it could have been logistics with the auctioneer, his commission taking a significant cut, or just the thought that they could get bidders from Philly and Adirondack involved given the throwback design. Makes little difference to me, I guess.

At some point, the market will become somewhat saturated, I suppose. I’m about done with hockey jerseys, myself. We’ll see, though, special designs and theme nights are a cool way to fill the stands, raise a little money (for whomever..) and have some fun–even if hockey fans don’t really need all the extras.